The Western Front.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 282, 7 May 1915, Page 5

The Western Front.

GERMAN WEDGE REMOVED, A THOUSAND YARDS GAINED. BOLD ADVANCE BY INDIANS. WHAT THE GAS ig DOING. Received May C ; C p.m., London, May i>. " Eye Witness" states that the French made considerable progress west of tire Ypres Canal and south of I'ilkem, removing the. German wedge, in the Vrench line between the canal, ypres and thy Langemarck Road, representing a gain of over a thousand yards at a central point.

On May 2 the Germans assumed the offensive against the British north of Ypres about five o'clock in the evening. Dense clouds of suffocating vapor were emitted from their trendies ort the whole front along the French right and our left. In the still of the evening the fumes did not carry beyond our first, trendies, but those were rendered untenable and a retirement was ordered. The enemy immediately bombarded i with asphyxiating shells and shrapnel. Tlu? gas on this occasion looked like a great fei'Mish cloud. Our batteries pour- ' ed a concentrated fire into the <!<ii'man | trenches. Between u s there wavered a ! poison belt. The upper part 'became i shredded, thin and vaporish, as it was 1 shaken by the wind, while the lower and denser part .was sinking in the inequalities of the ground and rolling (down the trendies. Nevertheless the ' German infantry faced it and our hail of shrapnel. The troops held firm and shot through the cloud at t'-ie advancing Germans, while the. men holding the front line managed to move flankwards beyond its influence. They waited until the Germans reached our trendies and then bayoneted them. On the extreme left of the supports we charged through the vapor, and the men met the oncoming enemy with bayonets. The Germans fled and large numbers were mown down and fell in heaps. Many were unable to make their way through the gas I cloud, and probably most of the wounded perished bv fumes before long. HVe occupied trenches and re-established our original position.

"Eye-witness" recounts a ree-?nt instance of Indian steadiness. A shell Imrst iii the middle of a battalion of Pathans, killing and wounding; sixteen men. The columns immediately closed up and marched on. They advanced across twelve hundred yards of open country under a murderous fire, their war cry swelling louder anil louder above tlie din. One of their British officers was hit four times, but continued to lead until lie fell riddled with machinegun bullets. Prisoners captured during the recent fighting state that one German corps lost SO per cent. In the first week the losses from our artillery were very 'icavy. Many Germans suffered from

gas. "Eye-witness" emphasised that progress must not be measured by the extra ground covered, lmt by the drain of the enemy's strength. The Germans' present policy is to achieve sufficient success lo influence neutrals.

MARCH ON CALAIS. GERMANS MASSING FORCES. Received May 7' 1.15 a.m. Amsterdam, May 0. There is a great concentration of Germans at Roulers, Courtrai, and Lille, foreshadowing a determined ellort to reach Calais. Gnus of lfiin have been mounted a few miles north of Xieuport.

LACK. OF AMMUNITION. WHAT IT MEANS TO TITE MEX. Received May 0, fi p.m. London, May 5. The Bishop of London addressed the London Diocesan Conference. Referring to German atrocities, he asked: '"Shall infamy remain unavenged?" Never while God is in heaven and the nation brave enough to do His will. He did not shirk the question whether vengeance was left to God The 'course of history showed that the Lord repaid vengeance practically always through man. If drink was a greater danger than submarines, and illegitimacy greatly increased, then a greater blow had struck the national prestige than the loss of trenches. It was stated two liundral WeTe killed and wounded every day, even when no battle was in progress, chiefly through the. lack of ammunition to keep down the enemy's fire. Lives were sacrificed through slackness here. He urged every patriot to work for the State.

GERMANS MAINTAIN OFFENSIVE. INFLUEXCIXfi ITALY. FRENCH ARTILLERY TAKE GERMANS IX FLANK. London, May 5. A correspondent in the north of France reports that despite appalling losses tin. Germans have not relinquished t'le offensive, and are grimly struggling for the possession of the Calais road. Military critics opine that the XJermau assertions of successes east and xvist are intended to influence .Italy at the critical moment. ■Mr. Tennant in the House of Commons said the Canadians' losses were 2:12 officers and liU'M men. Paris May ."3. A communique, states tlc.it the British left repulsed an attack north of Yprcs on Tuesday evening. French artillery took the Germans in the flank, inflicting serious losses. FIGHTING AT HILL 60. GERMAN'S GAIX A FOOTING. Ileecived May li, 8.5 p.m. London, Mac Ck Sir .John French reports that fitting is in progress at lli!l 60, where tin; Hermans gained a footing this morning under cover of gas, which was extensively imm!. The weather favored the use of n:is. The Hermans al>o made a feeble attack cast of Ypi'es. It was easily repaired, our artillery inflicting losses. The. Hermans exploded a mine in the neighborhood of Hivincliv and used 'Tour men were .poisoned, hut otherwise the attack failed. For Chronic Chest Complaints, V-'uwls' Great Peppermint Cure, i-G, a'/6.

MARKED PROGRESS MADE. J ENEMY .ATTACKS REFoLSED. Received May C, B.,'i p.m. Paris, May (!. ■ We recaptured Sabos and repulsed an itLacli lit ClUonne, inflicting heavy loss. Three r6giiuO«U attacked our newly acquired positions in tlifl eastern part of the Bois d'Ailiy, and on the Opeii ground of the ridge they gained a footing near our first line. Our counterattacks regained half the ridge, A second counter-attack is in progress, but the result is not known. *Vc gained a marked success eastward of Bois Montmartre, capturing two successive lines of trenches, and we repulsed three counter-attacks. Many of the enemy were killed and many taken prisoners. (We progressed along the Northern liank of the Feeht towards Steinhruck.